Finally, my wife's Civic will be available for pickup this Thursday! Signed all relevant documents today.

Noticed a few things about the 1.8s

1. Headlamp is projector!!!! Yes!!! That means upgrading to HID will be a lot easier since I don't have to source the 9th gen projector style headlamps! Wahahaha!

2. No autolock, so will have to do it outside

3. The speaker compartment behind the boot is not covered up. They covered up the ugly wires in the boot hinges but didn't bother to cover up the speaker compartment... Hello Honda, why so half ass effort?

Haven't get the car yet, only getting this Thursday. What I mean is the rear boot, it is usually all black because it's is fully carpeted, but the top part which houses the speaker, that area is exposed and it's quite unsightly. It's no big deal actually, but it's still a half assed effort. Like you dress someone up and then in the middle of the clothes got a small gaping hole.

The power difference isn't groundbreaking IMO. In the end, these cars aren't made for speeding anyhow. And we don't really want to spend that extra 16k for the extra features even though the 2.0s is definitely a much better featured car.

Cosmetically, having projector headlights is important to me, and the 1.8s has it. All I need to do is just slap on a Phillips HID kit and I'm set. Signal lamps on wing mirrors I can live without.

Interior wise - Leather seats can be done outside so that's covered as well. If DVD-navi is important to you, just buy an aftermarket one. Paddle shifters, nice to have but I don't even bother using it in my Passat, so have it or not in the Civic doesn't really bother me.

If safety is important to you, then this car is not such a good choice. But if your daily commute only involves going from home to KL or to the surrounding shopping malls then this car is sufficient. If it's going to be your main family car, then I think paying that extra for 2.0s is a better deal. If this is a 2nd car for you like it is for me, then it surely is good enough.

If you want to compare it against the Forte, then surely the Korean will offer much better value for money. You don't need to worry about its resale value as it will be nearly on par with the Japanese if not as good IMO.

My personal test drive between the 1.8s Civic and the Forte -

Forte engine is quite harsh sounding
Forte transmission is fairly smooth
Forte sound insulation isn't as good
Forte features is really nice for the price. First thing I notice is the nice touch screen player navi in the center console
Forte body roll is more noticeable than the Civic

Civic engine is much more refined. It's not harsh sounding at higher revs
Civic interior quality is meh, but acceptable
Civic sound insulation is decent, noticeably better than the Forte but still leaves much to be desired.
Civic feels more planted than the Forte but body roll is still obvious.
Civic steering response is a bit on the light side

You can solve the sound insulation and body roll problem easily with money for the forte and it will still cost much lesser than the 1.8s Civic, but you can't fix the engine harshness, it's the characteristic of the car. The best you can do is try to improve the firewall so you can hear less of that harshness.

My thoughts is simple, how much can you afford to downpay and how much can you pay per month? And buy the best available car based on what your budget allows. At the end of the day, it all boils down to what you can afford based on what you want. You won't regret if you do that.

The issues I had to wrestle with 2 months ago were based very simply on what I was willing to pay and for how long. Based on that, both the new C class facelift, Audi A4 and new 3 series were out because I simply did not want to take a 7 year loan just to buy those cars. Then, it came down to buying a Camry or something else - all said and done, the really dumb specs and warranty of the Camry made it easy for me to buy the current car I'm driving now.

With the Honda Civic, it was even easier - as it was a 2nd car for my family, having really good specs isn't a priority at all. It was again based on how much we were willing pay per month. The KIA Forte/Hyundai Elantra would have been much better choices in terms of value for money but wife didn't want any Korean cars, so the choice was clear and simple.

The facelift is at least 3 years away before it arrives in Malaysia so there's no reason to wait.

I am a happy owner of 1.8S. No complain thus far after 3000KMs. I am ok with the power as I have owned something much more than that prior. Thanks.

No regrets one la. The 2.0s is all in for 16k extra, the only thing left to do is just add an aftermarket touchscreen DVD navi and solar security film then complete. Everything else like what illuminated side steps etc is just cosmetics and personal satisfaction and that's it - when it's time to sell off your car, you're not going to get anymore extra just because you got an extra body kit or whatever. But for sure you will get better resale compared to the 1.8 owners when it's time to let go, this much I know for certain.

Was at Megan Avenue late afternoon just now & the area I parked, there was my 1.8 & another 2.0 as well as a Hybrid. How about that! All 3 models at the same location (not sure if 2.0 was navi though, kira same same la).

More & more civic's on the road now. Surely a large enough community that someone will start some sort of club sooner or later. 

Anyhow, SA called & informed me that my Boot Tray has arrived (one of the free gifts my SA gave me). Dropped-by Sri Utama @ Setapak & picked-up the boot tray. Lovely. Now won't be too worried with trowing stiff in the back. If there are spills, just take it out & hose it down. 

Confirmed:
1.8 - 5 (rikusai, BravoZeroTwo, zmr704, jsnoway, bacabuku)
2.0 - 16 (civic2012, Hoegaarden, ogawafreeman, azrin138, mokhzaini, Dna11, sean5288, winger7, OperaGhost, Raven_lee, Loopster, Glau, Zackeffect, Joyce2tw, alexio82, ape_celop)
2.0Navi - 4 (leonall, skyz, scloi, kc_lim)
Hybrid - 5 (kaipin, one leg kicking, ExpZero, CarOnLine, Vannus)

Ok, we just took ownership of our silver Honda Civic 1.8s around 4+ this afternoon.

Overall impressions:

Ignition key design - Definitely look a lot better and more solid compared to the pre-facelift Corolla Altis key. It's a nicely weighed piece of metal and plastic that is somewhat similar to the polo hatchback key.

Alarm sound - Unlike the Honda of old, you no longer hear the car alarm being armed or disarmed. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing at the moment.

Econ Mode - Hate it, makes the car feel sluggish.

Sound insulation on the whole - Although not as good as current gen Corolla Altis and even the Polo TSI. It's still quite decent on the whole and the car is very quiet when idle, but wind noise/tire noise is quite apparent even at 75km/hr. Tyre noise is probably attributed to the lame Eagle NCT5 tire performance.

Engine firewall - Engine sound insulation is still on the weak side, particularly once the car hits 3k RPM and above. Both the Corolla Altis and even the Polo TSI is superior to the Civic in this aspect. Engine noise intrusion is audible but still bearable at higher RPM

Car power - Decent, you will need to work the rev counter a little to get more out of the engine. It's no match against turbocharged contis like the Polo TSI or Peugeots 308/408 etc if you want to feel more "kick". Power response is definitely 1up against the KIA forte and against the pre-facelift Corolla Altis.

Overall cabin space compared to pre/post facelift Corolla Altis - I think the Civic is a tad more spacious. Even the driver seat itself is much more comfortable. My passengers were also impressed with the leg space they had despite both passenger and driver seat were set as far back as allowable. People who are 5"10 would still have ample leg room sitting behind so that's a huge plus.

Halogen Headlight brightness - Thanks to the projector headlamps, the beam cutoff is very nice, brightness is surprisingly very good as well. I think I may actually not bother switching to xenon HIDs since the halogen is performing better than expected.

Boot space - Impressive, while not as deep as the previous gen Honda City, it can still load a considerable amount of stuff. I had a stroller, 2 boxes full of my wife's shoes and some other miscellaneous junk that took up over 3/4 of the boot area and there was still some space left to load in at least 2 to 3 bags of groceries.

More driving impressions tomorrow when I drive the car more.

SG? I bet my money I can wash it away with Optimum Power Clean. You guys should do more research if you want your money well spent.
If you really want a permanent and resilient coating, look non other than Opti-Coat. Don't judge me by saying I am bull-shitting first. You can google it up.

https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=2491249

http://optiautodetail.com/

www.thedetailers.blogspot.com

I hope you can stand driving in econ mode. I can't, it's so freaking lethargic! I'd trade better FC for better power and driving experience any day.

Hi aLL,

im thinking whether to get 1.8 or 1.5 hybird now...

Hybird coMe with better features. but the onli thing i scare is the power deliver are not satisfactory compare to 1.8...

No hYbird civic to test drive. Do u guy know wher i can try it?

Any daIko caN gv soMe comment?

Thanks^^

As I said bro, Google up... You may say I am bullshitting  or lying, but the world and all those detailers out there is not.

And what's the problem with household apply, it isn't cheap or not any cheaper than shop outside. Please learn and find out who is bro KC and bro Seech... The ever famous top grade detailers in Malaysia that is known worldwide. See what car we did up in the blog www.thedetailers.blogspot.com

The reason is this, we brought in OPT products and we don't want people out there to ruin the reputation, so only real proper trained hands are given access to the products. And as you can see, we do sell the consumer range of product.

And for the coating, I using it.

TEFLON PPS, again come... I can strip it down with bare Power Clean from Optimum. Verdict if you believe, don't waste money on it.

P/S: Did not mean to sound rude or disrespect, I have been through this stage, tried this and that and learned that I wasted too much money until I am lucky to meet KC and he teaches me A to Z. I do not mind to join you guys TT to share with you guys . Maybe RM700++ is small matters to you guys, but really you want your RM700++ to be washed away that easily with an environmental friendly cleaner?

An interesting read:

http://www.insideline.com/honda/civic/2012...s-to-avoid.html

http://www.insideline.com/honda/civic/2012...y-separate.html

You mean you still want PPS? Or you want Opti-Coat?
1) What do you mean by how much? For Opti-Coat?

2) I will wash and prepare the paint as necessary, then coat.

3) Recommended to wash with ONR, but you can wash it plain water.

4) You can wax after the coating being done, but coating is strong enough to reject it after a while. You can wax it for a temporary slick touch, but why waste time?

Lots of info on the civic 9th gen Facebook page, go join there and get your queries answered